Reference Sources
Almanac of African Peoples and Nations by
The peoples of Africa are neither ethnically, culturally, nor religiously homogeneous. European colonial powers took little note of this reality in carving up the continent, a fact reflected in the periodic outbreak of civil war since decolonialization. Likewise, Western European models of development, whether in their liberal or Marxist manifestations, have so far failed to meet African development needs. The path to stability in Africa is through its people's character and goals. Almanac of African Peoples and Nations provides an essential guide to the major ethnic groups of the African continent, highlighting the major contributions and basic features of each.The Almanac reviews Africa's language families and their respective national and geographic concentrations, explaining ethnic classification based on linguistic difference and including language groups that are not indigenous to Africa. The major African peoples are then listed by country with a statistical breakdown on their respective shares in the total population of each country and maps indicating their concentration. The major section of the volume includes a comprehensive listing and descriptive profile of each ethnic, national, and tribal group detailing their history, customs, economic systems, and political and social organizations. The Almanac points out as well which groups support revisionist political aspirations and shows the internal and external pressures they are subject to. Yakan notes that African societies are not highly integrated and must support multitudes of influential sub-cultures with conflicting agendas and loyalties. Arguing that tribalism reflects Africa's historical experience and cultural heritage, he sees the resolution of the continent's problems in consociational democracy, proportional representation, federalism, or some form of autonomous rule.
Location: Mugar Stacks DT15 .Y35 1999ISBN: 9781560004332Publication Date: 1999-06-30
Atlas of Changing South Africa by Location: African Studies Library Reference G2566.E625 C5 2001ISBN: 9780415211789Publication Date: 2001
The New Atlas of African History by Location: G 2446 .S1F73 1991ISBN: 0136121519Publication Date: 1991-09-01
Language Map of Africa and Adjacent Islands. by Location: G8200.E3 1977 .D25ISBN: 0853020620Publication Date: 1977
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Covers the most current and controversial issues of the day with summaries, pros and cons, bibliographies and more. Provides reporting and analysis on issues in the news, including issues relating to health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy.
- Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
Opposing Viewpoints covers opposing sides of the most current social issues, from Offshore Drilling to Climate Change, Health Care to Immigration. Opposing Viewpoints helps students research, analyze and organize a broad variety of data for conducting research, completing writing assignments, preparing for debates, creating presentations and more.
Africa: an Encyclopedia of Culture and Society [3 Volumes] by
These volumes offer a one-stop resource for researching the lives, customs, and cultures of Africa's nations and peoples. Unparalleled in its coverage of contemporary customs in all of Africa, this multivolume set is perfect for both high school and public library shelves. The three-volume encyclopedia will provide readers with an overview of contemporary customs and life in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa through discussions of key concepts and topics that touch everyday life among the nations' peoples. While this encyclopedia places emphasis on the customs and cultural practices of each state, history, politics, and economics are also addressed. Because entries average 14,000 to 15,000 words each, contributors are able to expound more extensively on each country than in similar encyclopedic works with shorter entries. As a result, readers will gain a more complete understanding of what life is like in Africa's 54 nations and territories, and will be better able to draw cross-cultural comparisons based on their reading. Supplies entries that are more extensive than in most comparable encyclopedic works Arranges content alphabetically by country, then by topic, with suggestions for further reading following each Includes contributions from numerous eminent scholars of African history Provides a clear African voice via entries from scholars from the African continent
Location: Online Access: ProQuest Ebook CentralISBN: 9781598846669Publication Date: 2015-12-14
Encyclopedia of African Peoples by Location: DT 15 E53 2000ISBN: 0816040990Publication Date: 2000-01-01
Africa South of the Sahara 2020 by
The definitive one-volume guide to all sub-Saharan African countries, providing invaluable economic, political, statistical and directory data. General Survey Thoroughly revised and updated analytical articles written by experts on the region and covering both continent-wide and sub-regional issues. Country Surveys Individual chapters on every country incorporating: essays on the physical and social geography, recent history and economies an extensive statistical survey of economic indicators a full directory containing names, addresses and contact details for key areas such as the government, diplomatic representation, the media, finance, trade and industry, and defence a useful bibliography, providing sources for further research. Regional Information Detailed information on regional organizations; commodities; research institutes; and select bibliographies of books and periodicals.
Location: African Studies Library Reference DT352.8 .A315 1985ISBN: 9780367174828Publication Date: 2019-10-24
African Folklore by
First published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Location: Online Access: ProQuest Ebook CentralISBN: 9781135948733Publication Date: 2004-03-01
Encyclopedia of African History and Culture by Location: DT 3 .P27 2001ISBN: 0816044724Publication Date: 2001-10-01
Berg encyclopedia of world dress and fashion. Africa by
Part of Berg Fashion Series, Lavishly illustrated with over 300 images - most previously unpublished - Africa is the first major reference work to offer a comprehensive overview of dress and adornment in this vast continent of many nations and peoples. This volume examines past and present dress practices, including the ornamental and symbolic meaning of body decoration, the historical significance of cloth and textiles, and the ancient trading relationships and migrations that have shaped Africa's complex material culture. This is a land of contrasts, where age-old ceremonial dress and mask traditions coexist with the trappings of a modern, globalized society. The rich, varied, and often deeply symbolic dress of African peoples is given its fullest coverage to date in this landmark work.
Location: Online Access: Bloombury Fashion LibraryISBN: 9781847888501Publication Date: 2010
- Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) byLocation: Web Resource - LibGuide
Guide to cross-cultural research using the HRAF archive by Location: Z5111 .E42 1988Publication Date: 1988
Instructor's and librarian's guide to the HRAF archive by Location: Z5111 .L48 1988Publication Date: 1988
Beginning Your Research
Helpful Hints
- Select a topic that interests you.
- Start from what you know: your class reading and lectures, what you’ve read in the media or heard in other classes.
- Do some preliminary research on your topic to determine if you can find enough information. Not too broad, but not too narrow! It’s good to check your topic before it’s too late to change.
- Familiarize yourself with the context around the topic. Whether you are researching a particular woman in African history or a particular topic, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the African countries you are looking at.
- Resources may exist in the language of the colonial government and may dictate how names are written. For example, Njinga could be written as “Nzingha” or “Nzinga”.
Arm yourself with as much information as possible and all possible variations of a name as you conduct your research:
It is critical in the number of results you retrieve when using the library catalog, electronic databases, and the internet.
- Identify authors who are specialists in the field, search for other works they have written.
- Whom do those authors cite? Check the bibliographies of books on your topic in order to find additional resources.
- If the topic is extremely specific, for example, you want to find rites & traditions performed by the Masai when a child is born, try looking at a more general book such as an ethnography of the people. Search chapter headings and indexes for the information you need.
